Effects of Lycii Fructus on primary cultured chicken brain cells

Effects of Lycii Fructus on primary cultured chicken embryonic brain cells were studied by microscopic observation, determination of the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), and syntheses of protein, RNA and DNA. The brain cells were prepared from the brains of 10-day-old chicken embryos and cultured with a deficient medium. The activity of PDHC in the brain cells cultured with a deficient medium was increased to 1.8 times by the addition of 30 μg/m l of the total methanol extract of Lycii Fructus. To seek the active fraction, total methanol extract was further fractionated by the polarity. The survival rate of neuronal cells was significantly increased by the addition of 100 μg/m l of the buthanol or aqueous fraction. At this concentration, the significant increase of the syntheses of protein and RNA, but not of DNA, indicates that the fractions may act on the neuronal cells which are known to be non-dividing cells.